Calls for immediate no-fault eviction ban as new stats cast doubt on so-called landlord exodus

Big Issue founder Lord John Bird has submitted an amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill that will mean no-fault evictions are banned as soon as the bill comes into law.

Lord Bird tabled the amendment on the final day of the bill’s committee stage in the House of Lords on Thursday (15 May) as the legislation moved step closer to finally coming into law later this year.

It’s now been more than six years since then-prime minister Theresa May pledged to scrap no-fault evictions, also known as section 21 evictions. They allow a landlord to evict a tenant without giving a reason and are considered a leading driver of homelessness.

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The Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC) estimated that more than 120,000 households have faced a section 21 eviction since the government first promised to abolish them.

“It has been 2,222 days since a UK government first promised to abolish no-fault evictions. Six years, four prime ministers and a change of government later, we’re still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled,” said Lord Bird.

“The amendment I’ve raised is imperative for ensuring that there is no further delay. I call on my fellow peers to back my proposal to ban section 21 as soon as legislatively possible when the Renters’ Rights Bill finally assents later this year. In the wake of so many broken political promises, we cannot depend on government goodwill alone to deliver this essential change for renters with the swiftness they deserve.”

New statistics from the Ministry of Justice, also published on Thursday, showed the number of possession claims submitted to county courts decreased by 4% between January and March this year when compared to the same period last year.

The number of claims rose between the middle of 2021 before peaking in the third quarter of last year when 25,402 claims were made to courts. Since then, claims have declined to 23,976 in the first three months of this year.

The decline casts doubt on repeated warnings from pro-landlord lobby groups that there will be a “wave of evictions” in the months leading up to the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

The statistics come just weeks after Rightmove experts said they expect the new legislation will have “limited impact” on the private rental market.

Peers will next scrutinise the bill at its report stage before it progresses for a third reading in the House of Lords. Once it passes that stage and secures support of MPs in the Commons, it will be in line to be granted royal assent.

Tom Darling, director at the RRC, said: “Homelessness, ill health, anxiety, poverty – the state of private renting in England is responsible for so much misery. And section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are right at the heart of this broken system. The government should stick to their promise and abolish section 21 immediately once the bill is passed. No more delays!

“In its current form, the Renter’s Rights Bill should make a real difference to renters, but it could be undermined by pro-landlord amendments at report stage. If this happens the government must strip out any hostile amendments with its Commons majority. These long-awaited reforms have strong public support from all sides – to allow the bill to be watered down at the 11th hour would not only be a shocking betrayal of renters, it would also be terrible politics.”

While the Renters’ Rights Bill is set to shift the power balance between tenant and landlord, it still faces criticism for failing to include measures to tackle affordability at a time when private rents are at record highs.

New figures from the English Housing Survey, also published on Thursday, show that low-income renters are increasingly struggling to keep up with sky-high costs.

Low-income private renters are spending 63% of their income on housing, up from 56% in 2019-20, according to analysis by Shelter.

They also spend 9% more of their income on housing than mortgage holders, and 27% more than social renters in the same income bracket.

Across all income levels, private renters are shelling out more than a third (34%) of their household income on housing costs every month, up from 32% in 2019-20.  

Alicia Walker, assistant director of advocacy and activism at Shelter, said: “No-fault evictions must be scrapped by summer, but landlords can’t be allowed to continue using colossal rent hikes as a loophole to unfairly force tenants out.  

“Rents and living costs are spiralling across England and tenants on the lowest pay are keeping hold of their homes by the skin of their teeth. Every day our frontline teams hear from families who’ve been hit with rent increases they just cannot afford – forced to pay up or ship out, with little standing between them and the nightmare of homelessness.  

“With the Renters’ Rights Bill making its way through the House of Lords, this is the last chance to guarantee renters real security. If the government wants the bill to be truly transformative, it must cap rent increases in line with inflation or wage growth to make renting genuinely safe, secure, and more affordable.”

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